MILLWORK - Hanford Mills Museum

MILLWORK
Fall. 1997
CopYrigh t ©1997 Hanford Mills Museum
What's News?
Vol. 11 - No, 3
Endowment
Fund
Growth
The Mill Gets a New Coat
If YOll visi ted the Mill earl.\' this slimmer. you might have been shocked to find
the front all painted white. Don't worry,
we didn"t change Its color. That was Just
the prime r coal. This summer the Mill
building was completely repainted , front
a nd back. It was first power washed to
remove loose paint. scraped and then
p rimed . Now it's back (Q ItS usual barn
red color.
Under the Spreading Black Locust Tree?
This summer. Interpreter Tres Loeffler. completed the reconstruction of the Hanford Forge with the help of other museum staff.
After a winter of research. the building's location and design were
pinpointed.
did a lot of work on preparing the timber frame
whIch was erected in July. Then
came the work of sheath ing it.
putting in a chimney and building
the forge. You can see Tres
demonstrati ng his blacksmithing
skills during special events. And
just like when the Han fords were
running the mill, all the
museum's boxes are now branded
in the Fo rge. If you need a blacksmith forged item, please contact
the museum fo r information on .
prices for reproduction work.
( t!
Robert Bishop, A Friend
It is a natural thi ng in life to lose your parents, aunts, uncles,
grandparents , and loved ones. It is often sad and leaves us a bit
lonely. When we lose someone who was truly our friend, regardless of kin ships. that indeed leaves a void in our lives. Hanford
Mills Museum has lost a good and dear friend who we will truly
miss. Bob Bishop served on the Board of the museum for many
years, volunteered for numerous special events, and came often
just to visit the mill site. When Hanford Mills Museum was first
purchased for a not-far- profit museum, Bob was a motivating factor
in the project. Because of his love for the h istory o f the region, he
made many aspects of the museum a reality. To his \vifr:> and
family we express our heart fclt sympathy, for we understand your
grief. We too shall miss this good and fine friend. Bob Bishop d ied
on June 30 at the age of 79. He died at home following an illness
of several months.
~
Not too many years ago.
some very forward looking folks
affiliated with Hanford Mi11s
Museum realized that to insure
th e future of this premier
historic site it was necessary to
establi sh an endowment fund.
An Endowmen t Fund was created, and for a number of years
many people and businesses
co ntributed 10 aid its growth.
The O'Connor Foundation
presented the Museum with a
matching c hallenge to encourage the continued growth of lhe
fund. The Museum met that
c hallenge . Each time the
challenge has been met. a new
one has been presented . This
work by both the Foundation
and the museum staff, board ,
members and friends has
produced good growth for the
future funding of the museum.
Once again we are pleased 10
have a matching challenge from
the O'Connor Fou ndation. For
every dollar the Museum raises
Con 't. on page 2
In This Issue:
Whar s News?
In Memoriam
End owme nt Fund
Old Buildings
Outhouses
Upcoming Even ts
Mill Worker Article
Hanford Farmstead
Mill Projects
The Mil! in Winter
Page 1
Page 1
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 7
Page 10
Page 12
Page 2
Hanford Mills Mu seum
Fa ll, 1997
Old Buildings
by Jan e Shepherd
As you journey about
New York on the back roads
a n d byways, you will see a
large se lection of o ld and
weat her weary buildings
crumbling into d isrepair
and dilapidation. There is a
certain nostalgia and
romance that we all feel
when spotting a particular
type of building. Maybe a
featherless chicke n coop
brings back memories of
visits to grandparents or
growing up on the farm .
Long empty pig pens, dairy
barns. and horse stables
recall to many. certa in
smells, sound s , and sum mer afternoons. Large
numbers of these long
unused struct ures o rnament Ollr rural countryside.
Man} are falling down or
are extremely weary from
their many years in the
weather. Several years ago,
Gallery 53 in Cooperstown . Ne\\
York became extreme'" interested in these structures. The:oproduced an exhibit of photographs by Richard Walker and a
book of the photographs titled
An Agricultural Legacy: Farm
Buildings of Central New York
written by Gilbert Vincent.
This exhibit is now housed at
Hanford Mills Museum. Visttors
Elldowmelll - COI1 'l./rom page 1
for its Endowment Fund, the
O'Connor Foundation will
donate another doUar. up to
$50.000. The principal of the
Endowment Fund is ne\'er used.
The Museum puts it III the
bank and the Fund \\'orks to
gcnerate interest for the future
of the site . On ly the interest
earned each year by the Fund IS
used. It is used for general
opera tion s a nd preservation
work at Hanford Mills Museum.
nI~
01 0
Chickell Coops
1111
~IW
to the site will see nu merOliS
panels of photographs each
featuring farm buildings such
as well houses. smokehollses,
privies & outhouses. dairies,
spring hOllses, ice houses. milk
houses. granaries. corn cribs.
chicken houses. pig houses.
sugar houses , hops kilns &
barns. and even cheese facto ries. Once th ese photos are
[n the recen t past . interest from
our Endowment Fund has been
used to pamt bltlldlllgS. repair
~ome flood damage. pay person ne: . and promote the museum's
education programs.
YOllr gIft to the Endo\\ me-nt
Fund Will help it gI"O\.... so that
ItS can produ ce more interest
for the museum for man:o- years
to come. As the Mu seu m 's
Endowment Fund grows. the
Museum will re l:o- less heavih
on outside funding sou rces. We
seen a nd enjoyed oft e n it
stim ulates nOlice of othe r
buildings in ou r cou n tryside
as well . Along wit h the
exh ibit, the book of photogra phs is available at Ha n ford
Mills Muse u m gift s ho p. [n
the book, Mr. Vincent tclls
us: ;'The names of the farm
folk who design ed and b u ilt
this rich and varied agricu ltu ral arc h itecture are largely
forgotten. [n the ir time the
accom plishment was simpl}'
part of a day's work; another
of the remarkable skills in
which a farme r must be
a dept to do his job. While the
creators a re unknown, their
humble fu n ctional creations
are in a small way being
preserved and h onored
through the research and
photography co nta ined in
this publication. "
If you are interested in
purchasing this delightful
a nd informative booklet An
Agricultural Legac\': Farm
Buildings of Centra l New York,
you may do so at the Museum's
Gift Shop o r by mail. The cost is
$5.00. Please add $1.50 for
shipping and ha ndling if YOll
wish to order by mail. Be sure
to come by the Muse um before
October 3 1 to see the exhibit o r
after we reopen in the spring.
ff:p:
wish to encou rage you to send a
gift to the Hanford Mills Museum Endowment Fund this
autumn. or stop by the Museum
for a Visit a n d leave you r Endow·
ment gift wit h s taff. Once
again. it is only through the
dedicated giving of our friends
and members t ha t Hanfo rd Mills
Museum conti nues to be a
premier hi storic site interpret·
ing the hCfltage cu lt ure of Oll r
region. state, and nation.
rer-
Fall, 1997
Hanford Mills Mu seum
Page 3
Out With the Outhouse
by Alene Alder
Although wealthier homes
h ad the luxury of indoor toilets
in the late nineteenth century,
most houses in East Meredith
did not install bathrooms until
about 1930. The privy ranked
as the most common and necessary outbuilding. Although the
installation of indoor plumbing
eventually eli minated the
outhouse, many people have
vivid memories o f dealing with
the lack of modern conveniences. This past year, I have
done oral interviews with
several elderly East Meredith
residen ts for my thesis on East
Meredith between 1920 and
1940. They shared memories of
the time before their family
installed a bathroom, and the
excitement of finally getting
one. Charlie Haynes recalled
that: "I n 1910, you might say, I
think there were only two
or three bathtubs and
toile ts in the whole village."
Although most people
had running water in the
house prior to 1920, It
usually ran only to the
kitch en sink. The John
Hanford house, now owned
by Hanford Mills Museum,
originally contained a
bathroom with only a bath
tub but no toilet. Most
famili es h ad neither.
Without indoor plumbing. taking a bath could be
quite an endeavor. One
had to h eat water euher on
the stove or in an attac hed
reservoir, and then carry it
to the bath tub. Since the
water was usually pumped
m10 the kitchen and
hea ted on the cook stove.
most people took baths in
fhe kitchen. ~·largarct
Parris Schmitt remem bered: ··When I was a little
girl, my mother would take a
wash basin and put water in
that and put it near the stove,
and [II would stand in there and
then she would wash me. "
Shirley Adair VanDeusen
recalled: "On Saturday night the
kitchen door was s hut a nd each
kid had his bath and then went
to bed. And then we were ready
for church the next day." In
Elma Hether ington MitcheJrs
fam ily. where one took a bath
changed when o ne got older:
When we were Uttle, we
wasbed in tbe kitchen
and then after we eot
older we carried the bath
water upstain, took it In
our rooms. It was a m etal
round t ub, eood s ized
tub. Well you didn't baul
It up with water in, you
took the tub up first and
then you earned tbe
water up arte r In palls.
You bad to dip it o ut or
MOSI ,)lIl/lOuses were
tlwn /Ius one.
/l O/iI /ICler
the reservoir and put it
In a paU. Yes, I presume
tbat'. wby tbey bad
Saturday nlebt batbs
instead o r taking tbem as
often a. we do DOW.
Because of this difficu lty ,
people took baths only once a
week, u sually o n Saturday
evening so one would be clean
for ch urch. "M ust have smelled
terrible!" S hirley VanDe usen
exclaimed when she th ough t
about it in today's standards.
However, with different tec h nology available there were different standards of hygiene.
When most fa milies added a
bath tu b, they in cluded a toilet.
The John Ha nford house seems
to be an exception to this,
having a tu b long before a toilet.
Most of the in rormants clearly
remembered their family
installing a restroom sometime
around 1930. Only Jean
He nde rson Kelso, her family
being o ne of the first to
install one. had an indoor
toilet all o f h er chi ldhood.
Most children growing up
in East Meredith we re not
as lu cky as Jean. They h ad
to lise the privy. "'Ne had a
privy. Yeah , it was fastened
on to a back woodshed .'·
Flore nce Beames
Wiedeman recollected
Shirley VanDeusen recalled: " How I hated that. Of
course I d idn't know any
better, really because J was
brough t up with it."
By 1940, most people had
done way with their out hOll ses and a dded a mode rn
bathroom to their homes.
Today. people take the ir
indoor bathroom for granted ,
but on ly seve n ty years ago
they were a rare luxury in
East Mered ith and other
rural communiti es .
(/.'014.
"".-
Page 4
Han ford Mills Museum
Fall. 1997
Coming Attractions!
by Mark Watson
As our summer season draws
to a close, Hanford Mills Museum invites you to our final
special events: The Third
Annual Quilt Show from October
4th through 13th, and the
Sawyer's Holiday to be held
Saturday, October 11th. As
usual, the Quilt Show will
decorate the historic John
Hanford Farmhouse. Dozens of
quilts. historic and contemporary. will highlight this ten-day
show. As a special bonus. the
Town of Meredith 's commemorative quilt, celebrating Delaware County's bicentennial will
be proudly displayed. The Town
of Meredith is cosponsoring this
event as part of the year long
celebra tion of Delaware
Count}·'s bicentenniaL Please
take this opportunity to view
these quilts. as well as the
interior of the Hanford Farmhouse .
For a double treat. plan on
attending the Sawyer's Holiday .
Remember, this is a one day
program which illustrates
changing technology in the
sawing industry. Watch as
Hanford Mills Museum staff
members experiment \\ith an
early pitsa\\". Compare this to
the Museum's circ u lar saw. We
also will have our shingle mill
and drag saws
operating that da).
Portable handsaw
distributors have
been invited to
display the latest in
sa\\ ing technology.
Please (""all for
additional details.
As usual. tours of
the mill complex
will be available, as
will the exhibits in
the Feenmill, White
Barn and 1915
Garage. A visit on
the Sawyer's HoliMarking
day will offer the
sawing demonstrations and the
Quilt Show. The hours for the
Quilt Show and Sawyer's Holiday
are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p .m .
Concessions. as well as a bake
sale, will be sold on Saturday.
October 1 I. The well stocked
Gift S hop will be open eve!) day
until the last day of museum
operation, October 31.
It's not too early to start
thinking about winter . A look
at the fall colors tells us that
winter will be here all too
shortly. Please mark Februa!)'
7, 1998 on 'your calendars and
get ready for the annual Winter
Ice Harvest. Last year, more
than se\'en hundred people
came to
witness
and
Pitsawing
partici pate in
this once
vital
seasonal
activi ty.
Before
mechanical refrigeration,
ice Clit
during
winter
the ice field Witll
all
ice plow.
months supplied households
and industry with the only form
of cooling food produc ts. Upstate
New York and other areas' dall)'
industries required large
amounts of ice to help p reserve
milk in storage and transit. Ice
harvesti ng is a largely forgotten
craft in the 1990s, but Han ford
Mi ll s Museum brings it back to
life each year--and you can be a
part of it! Each visitor can walk
onto the millpond's frozen
surface, accompanied by museum s taff, and cut a block of
ice with an authentic ice saw.
The cake is floated down a
channel to a ramp whe re it is
hoisted upon a load ing dock.
From there. horse drawnsleighs, furnished by the Delaware Valley Draft Horse Club,
convey the cargo to our Ice
House. Insulated by dry sawdust, the ice remains until
needed, durin g our July Fou rth
celebra tion as well as during
ou r day cam p , t he Sum mer
Apprentice Workshop , held
during late Ju ly. In fac t. as this
article is being wri tlen , some o f
last February's crop remain s in
the Ice HOllse. This is a tru ly
Special Event.
e
Fall, 1997
Hanford Mi ll s Museum
Page 5
Meet George Dudley ... "A Masterhand With the Brush"
by Caroline de Marrais
•
Not every worker who had a
dressmaker. Local friends
dollars (the equ ivalent of apjob at Hanford Mills was hired to
knew her as Satie as this entry
proximately 4 to 6 days work at
work with wood. Some were
from Elizabeth Hanford's diary,
t he mill). George was also
hired to drive horse teams a nd
dated January 13, 1890. illusknown for a ttending local
some worked in the gristmill.
trates: "Satie Dudley out with
religious camp meetings.
At least one worker was hired to Baby for the first. " This was the
By 1893, the Dudley family
keep Hanford Mills painted.
Dudley's first child . a girl they
purchased a bu ild ing lot from
This summer. as the museum
named Anna Belle. On October
Doctor Van Vechte n. It wasn 't
repaints the Mill again. we take 22, 1895, their second and last
until the next year , that George
a look at the life of one of the
chi ld , a son they named Arthur,
took out a mortgage on the
mill's first painters. George W.
was born. This news item from
property and began to build.
Dudley.
the Delaware Count y Dairyman
Elizabeth Han ford kept close
We know little about George
on November 22. 1895 gives an
watch on the construction since
W. Dudley's life before he c~~~~~~~~,,£,:ll"~~~~~!!:.=
right across the
to East Meredith. Local street. George Dudley's
hislol)' tells us he was
fri ends, Alex Palme r and
born somewhere in
Oscar Briggs, started the
England about 1860. He
cellar on AprilS , 1894 ,
came to the United States
the foundation was
when he was around the
poured on June 18, a nd
age of eighteen. We know
carpente rs began work
nothing about his educaon July 30 . George
tion or why he came, but
couldn't paint his new
we do know he learned
home until August 5,
the trades of painting.
1895. For some reason ,
wallpapering. plastering
George appeared to be
and carpet laying. He first
d issatis fied with the
appears in East Meredith
house, for in 1899, h e
records in El izabeth
sold it to Mary Mitc hell ,
Hanford's dial)' dated
bought the lot next door
March 10, 1885: "Dudley George Dudley & his family pose 0 11 rhe porch of
from Alva Every, and built
went to Josiah's to Paint tllelr East Meredith home, c. 1895.
a new house.
Kitche n ." He also worked a-'-'h;-e-'~"A:-m-o-n-g--'t~h-e-,-,e-'~v-a-"~;v-a~l~s--'-in------;Co-eorge Dudley did not only
Mill in 1894. 1896, 1897 and
to\\'11 is a )'oung painter at
work on the Mill buildings and
1901. George earned a good
George Dudley·s. He regIstered
his own home. He also painted.
reputation with his work as the
at the Dudley home Oct. 24.
wallpapered a nd carpeted t he
Delaware County Dair\"man
George has looked over the lists
new chu rch in 1895. In 1898.
newspaper of September 30.
of all the common names that
he painted Thompson's general
1892 suggests : -- ... George
he could get hold of to find a
store_ And whe n Elizabeth
Dudley swings the best painters' front name for the ~oungstcr.
Hanford 's family home lost its
brush and cove rs the most
hut could find none su itahle. He roof in a wind and rain storm in
surface for the least money.-is no\\. wilh the assistance of
1901, George helped them re We may not know why
Alex Palme r . carefullv going
plaster and re-wallpaper. UnforGeorge Dudley chose East
through Ule Sacred volume ill
tunately. East Me redith was not
I\'leredLth. but he came to stay.
pursull of a suitable apJ>t.'lla large enough to support a fullSometime in late 1888 or ~arl,\
tion." Besides raismg children
(ime painter. George took on
1889. he married Sarah E.
in East ~Ieredith. th!' Dudley's
one other job, ajob t ha t eventuMcKee, older sister of Rose
were active memhers of the
ally won him a repu tat ion
throughout the area - that of
McKee (who married millworker communit.\ and the church.
and ne\\'spaper co rrespondent.
Thl'" Dudle.\·s helped till' Aid
town constable. This humorous
Richard Stinson. in 1898 - see
SO('lel~ I"i.ll~(, mOlLe.\ 10 bU1ld H
story com es from the Delaware
tl lillwork voillme 8. number I).
nc\\ ('hurch 111 1895 b.\ having a County Dairyman newspaper on
Con 'r. 0 11 page 6
She . like her sister. was a
povert} social, raising eighl
Page 6
Dudley. cOIl'tJrom page 5
Ma,' 21, 1897:
Last Friday evening tbls
place was entered by a
man wbom some said was
sllghUy de ranged; otbets
called it a case of ovetindulgence in tbe ardent.
But aU a dmitted that he
was an object of sua p lcion and tbe town waa in
danger. The police board
was bastily convened,
and ptompt and concerted
action was taken. "Colonel, " the watch dog o f
the treas urv,"
was called
-~
from the bone he Wa5
caressing, and chained to
Thompson's safe, the
museum of curiosities on
High street was carefully
guarded, sentinels were
posted in every kitchen
whete tbere was good
feeding , to prevent said
kitchens from being
looted by the rutbless
invade r. The gaUing guns
in the tower of the
"Farmers' Friend," corner
of Me rida le and Main
streets, we re manned by a
volunteer force, a cbestnut raU was laid across
the entrance to the
cemetery. sheds were
locked , hens were enticed
into ceUars, the Every
wall on Main street was
s trengtbened by the
a dditJon of a few boul-
Hanford Mills Museum
Fall, 1997
ders, and numerous otber
precautions were taken.
But tbe man wbo fitted
nicely Into tbe nlcbe ,
"the man of destiny"
who '0" to tho hIgh
at titude tbat tbe occasion
de mande d was omcCll'
Dudley. Taking his tife
In one hand, "rasping a
two ye ar-old aapling wi th
t be other, with a bound
eopy 0 r th e constahI es '
guide in o ne hip picket,
in the otber an accident
,'n.u,anc. polley, h.
boldly advanced o n tbe
s uspect , and in chaste
a nd beautiful language he
informed the intruder
that there was a wide a nd
hospitable county soutb
of this where the we ary
wayfarer might rest, and
where " ha nd-Outs" were
plenty. And in the kind
a nd pen;uasive manner
peculiar to this office r he
conducted blm to the
fron tier Ivillage limits).
The tow n was saved ; we
bteathed agai n . The Lord
relgneth, and the gove rnment at East Meredith
s till lives.
eve n called to ot her towns as
' news story f
Ocb
t IliS
rom
to er 29 .
1897 tells u s: "Officer Dudley is
getting a national reputation.
S qU Ire
'
SI e bb'm s, 0 f 0 avenport,
had a warrant issued for one of
Davenport's bad men. Davenport officers were shy on making the arrest. A telephone
Obviollsly, it was a "slow news"
day. and you must take the
description \dth quite a few
grains of sal t. but It does gIve us
an idea uf what George Dudle,' s
cons table job was like. He was
message bro ught Officer Dud ley
down and he arrested
Davenport's bad man ." The
I'
h ee k
s tory "
IS suItongue-m-c
and East Me redi th was not a hot
bed of c rim inal activity. still ...
it scems that George Dudley did
ma ke a repu tation for himself.
In 1905, however, George
and his wife sold theIr h ome to
Fra nk P. Bouton, a nd left East
Meredith for Oneonta (10 miles
Th
G
'
d
away).
e re, eorge contlllue
as a painter a n d wallpapere r,
w h ile his wife started to work as
a dressmaker again. There are
few
but
and
and
indexes to O neonta records.
sometime between 1912
1922 , George's wife died ,
it is likely that the ir daugh -
ter. Anna Belle, married. Their
son Arthur had several jobs.
including he lping his father
pai n t, working at a garage. and
finally getting a job as a jani tor.
p;;;;~~;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,~!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
ThiS p/lOrogmpli. whIch sliows rile imenor oJllle new Presbylem", Church, was
laken by Hornce Hallford uery SOOIl after George Dudley jill/sIJed pailltillg alld
wallpaperillg II ill /895.
A 1933 0 neon ta city
di rectory tells us that
George Dudley had
retired by then , and
it a ppears he may
have died around
1934.
While George W.
Dudley was not in
East Meredith very
long. he left hIS
mark on the village.
He was remembe red
fondly as a painter
and a constable. It is
like ly that many
paint and wallpaper
jobs we see in East
Meredith's h istoric
photograph s are his
wo rk. Hanford Mills
Museu m salutes one
of its first painters.
(f~
Fall, 1997
Hanford Mills Museum
Page 7
If These Walls Could Speak: Hanford Farm Buildings
by Caroline de Marrais
How often have people wondered "if these walls could
speak," what would they say?
We want to know what people
did here and why. Since these
walls do not speak plain English.
we think we will never know.
But walls and bu ild ings do speak
to us. we just have to learn to
translate what they say. Since
their language is differem from
ours we can never fully understand all they can tell us.
How can they tell us what
they know? Some examples of
their language can be found in
the ways the wood for bu ilding
them was cut. how they were
constructed. paint colors, markings left on walls and floors. and
depressions they have left III
the ground after they are gone.
They have also left messages in
historic photogra phs and old
diaries. newspapers and other
records. These paper documents were made to record
human happenings. but the
buildings in the background
also leave messages that might
be quite different from what the
photographer or writer intended
to leave. As you might guess.
Hanford Mills Museum buildings
have many stories to te ll.
The mIll building is a confusing hodge-podge of additions
that tell enough tales to fill a
book. but that is not the focus of
this stOI";'. If we look at the
Hanford Farmstead. It would
seem that these buildings had a
more straightforward farm stor.
to tell, but their appearance is
deceiving. The farmhouse,
itself, is deceiving. It looks as if
it has been there for a long
time, but It is the second farm house to stand on that location.
The first house was probably
built about 1848. It \\'as home
to a number of mill owners until
D.J. Hanford bought it in 1860.
D.J. raised his family in it. but
Left, The Dairy Bam , c. J885. (Photograph courtesy of Jean Kelso.)
Right, shows the same DainJ Bam in 1890 after it was expanded.
Note that the doors are ill the same place in each photograph.
when John Hanford look over
the farm III 1900. he ma~ have
felt II was too small and old
fashioned. In 1909. John moved
the old house over one lot no rth,
where it stands as a private
home with addition s and vinyl
siding. 1\ is difficult to tell how
old il is. In its place. he built a
modern, large farmhouse - the
one you see today. It's hard to
believe now, thai it was once
considered up-to· date.
You Inlght say the
Farmstead's Dairy' Barn speaks
to us from the grave, because it
IS gone now. All that remain
are photographs. local memory,
and the ramp that led to the
mam door. ThIS barn was
probably built abou t the same
time as the house. In photographs you can see that it
c1ose1.J, resembled its cousin the
Pond Barn (which still stands).
In the 1840s, wht!n it was built,
it was meant to be used as a
multi -purpose barn. Farms in
that time did a little bit of
every·thing. It \""ould have
h oused a few callIe and horses.
some of the farm's equipment.
\\"ith lots of room for loose hay
storage. As D.J. Hanford's fann
gre\\ through the 1870s and
80s. he began to specialize in
butter production, hke many
other Delaware County farms.
D.J.·s mill business was also
growing. He needed more room
fo r delivery horses and mill
equipment. His solution was to
build the White Barn for mill
use. The n sometime between
1885 and 1890, he enlarged his
Dairy 8arn. The barn grew
much bigger with a different
roof pitch and a fancy cupola.
While th e rest of th e building
changed, the barn sti ll had the
same door arrangem ent on the
front . telling us that the old'
barn \\as still hidden inside (see
photograph above). The barn
grew again between 1902 and
1910. O.J. 's son, John, was
running the farm then, and
dairy tech nology was changing.
John shipped milk instead of
butter, and he needed a place to
keep milk cool. He a lso had to
put in milking machines and a
silo to hold feed so he could milk
cows year round. He put an
addition on the front of the barn
a nd an ice house that would
provide ice to ch ill his milk.
After sale of t he farm in 1945,
the Dairy Barn was neglected.
Its main section s were balloon
framed a nd needed constant
care. By the 1970s, the barn
was in such bad repair, that it
was torn down by its last own e rs.
Con 't. 011 page 8
Page 8
Hanford Mills Museum
Fall, 1991
Farm - con·l. from page 7
He took a back shed room from
store for later use . The smoke
Besides the Dairy Bam, and
the old house and added It to the house appears in an 1810s
like most farms, there were
front of the Wagon House to
photograph of the Farm stead ,
many small outbuildings - all
make it large enough to store
but its appeara nce has ch an ged
with their O\vn part of the story
most of his fann equipment.
since then. At sometime in its
to tell. The largest farmstead
This addition gave us clues
history (after the Hanfords
outbuildmg. known as the
about its origin. The Size of the
switched to a circular sawmilll,
Wagon House, was much
room and the pitch of the roof
the roof either deteriorated or
smaller when it was first built.
matched a picture of the addicaught fire. Today's roofline is
[t may have been constructed at tion when it was attached to
the same as t he 1810s, but the
the same time as the house.
D.J.'s house. Interior construcdesign is s ligh tly different, with
The first section was built with
tlOn showed that it had been
a decorative vent built on top.
lumber from an un-and-down
attached to a one story building
By the time John Hanford was
sawmill. It may have been used (see photograph below). and that
running his father's farm. he no
for storing gardening eqUipbuilding had been brown (today
longer had much pork to smoke,
ment, perhaps the family wagon
the addition preserves the
and the smoke house was used
or carriage, and winter housing
origina l color of D.J. Hanford's
communally by many people in
home!). This was not the final
the village. Charlie Haynes
for pigs (in a basement room).
D.J. puy on an addition somechange, however. When the
(now a trustee emeritus of
time after 1881 (built wllh
farmstead was used as a sumHanford Mills Museuml supercircular sawn lumberl and a
mer home (1945- 1988), the
vised its use .
door for chickens was cut in the Wagon House needed a new
Behind the Smoke House is
side. [n earlier times, most
roof, which they added, and in
a building now k nown as the
farmers let their ch ickens free
the process. they removed the
Chicken Coop. It is difficu ll to
range and find shelter wherever cupola (which had been used for
say when this bu ilding was
they could. ThiS chicken door
ventilation). Today, this Wagon
built. The building is not in t he
may reflect changing Ideas in
House still holds much of John
1870s photograph , and the
chicken management. The
Hanford's original farm equiprough cut lumber that is visible
addition also made room III the
ment.
suggests it was built after the
basement for more pigs. The
Right next to the Wagon
change to a circular saw in
final addition made to the
Iiouse. and probably just as old
1881 . It is very likely that it
Wagon House came in 1909.
as its original part. is a brick
was built about the same time
when John Hanford moved hiS
smoke house. Smoke houses
as the addiuon to the Dairy
father's home and built Ins own. were used to smoke meat to
Barn between 1885 and 1890, to
- -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - ' - - ' -- -------'-----'-----'------ - be used as a creamery for
producing butter. With a
growing herd, D.J. needed
a place to let cream rise, to
churn butter (probably \dth
a dog treadmill), and to
pack the bUller into tubs
and firkins . Then , as hiS
farm continued to grow.
D.J. bu ilt a larger creamery (more about that below)
in 1891 and changed h iS
old creamery to a chicken
coop. In the 1890s.
chicken managemenl was
becoming "high- tech" and
the old creamery made a
pe rfect chicken coop to fil
modern ideas of chicken
raising. After the sale of
the farm 111 1945. the
coop's last job was as a
ThIS pllOtograpll UJOS '(lkell III the mid 1870s. There IS fhe hOl/se (tile maill
storage shed, bu t today the
seCllOII IS pm'med a dark color), WIth (I pnme alld pig shed brillfld, alld what
Call'!. all page 9
appears to be rhe smoke house oll/he/ar ngllt.
Fall. 1997
Fann - con ·l.from page 8
Museum IS restoring it as a
chic ken coop.
The Creamery just
referred to. was built in
1891: "C.O. Hanford IS the
'Master Workman' on D.J .
Hanford's ne\\ creamery."'
Delaware County Da iry man, Ju ne 19. 1891. ThiS
new creamery had modern
eqUIpment, likel~ a cream
separator and a churn run
b) a \\ a te r furbine \\ ith
water piped from the Mill .
By 1909. It was obsolete.
Farms \\ere Shlppll1g milk
Hanford Mills Museum
•
•
t -
"
-
.,
,
• ,
..'.....
instead of butler. A cream - TIlls pll010groph. take" S001l after Ille cI"eamenJ was buill, shows the original
en was no longer n('ceslocallor, of lIS cluTl/ney. Tllf' onglllnl house IS aI' tile left. and Ole chicke1l coop
sa~'. John Hanford used
and wago" house are all tile ngllf. Tile plwlograpll was wke1lfrom behind
the old c rea01e~ for the
tile null.
kitchen wing of Ills new
-'C"'-"''''
_______________________________
house. He rna\' have c\'en
moved it towards the road a bit.
ThiS is suggested by a large ,
rectangular depression beh ind
It. in line with the old turbine
I>it. If you look at the Hanford
Farmhouse. there are man}
clues to the difference In age
be tween it and the kitchen
\\'mg. All the house 's wmdows
have o ne pane of glass hung
o\'er another. except the
kitchen wing. which has older
wmdows. The found ations are
different . with the differe nce
hidden on the kitchen wing
with a fake. tin "stone founda tlon ." The floor in the kitchen
is slightl) highe r. and therc are
marks on the ceiling where
shafllng hung. And last of all.
\\ hi Ie pictures taken of the
house nght at completio n s how
that the chimne~ for the
kitc hen wing was always nearest the main section of the
house. there is a footmg ror the
chimnc) on the back wall
where the creamery had a
chimney (see photograph
above) . Originally. the museum
staff thought the Hanford Farm ·
house was bUilt all at the same
time. but the Creamen' has told
us differently.
The final outbuilding that
remains siandlllg is the garage.
This IS the newest bUilding,
constructed some time around
191 7. \\ hen John bought his
fir s t automobile . It is H plcal for
Its lime - just large enough to
fit the car - sllnllar III design to
man) lo\\ ·cosl garage building
kits. It is illleresting that John
"Ianford felt he must h8\'e a
ne\\ building for his auto. Was
therc no room in the Wagon
lIouse or Dall: Barn for a car . or
was neither buildmg con Sldercd
;l sUlIahle place to s tore an
automobile?
There is o ne last building
that sat on the Ilanford Farmstead that we should talk about.
Tha t IS the PrIV) o r the OUl- .
hou se , which no longer stands.
A plam, board priv} can be seen
behmd the farmhouse in a n
18705 photograph. Prevailing
wmd!> would le nd to blow any
odors away from the house. Of
course. }OU had to move the
pn\')" once III awhile when it
filled. We know that a late r
privy \\as s ituated o\'e r the old
turbine pit hole in the backya rd .
In the future, the museum
hopes to have a n archeologica l
dig of thiS pll (and pe rhaps
searc h for other privy locations) .
Wh) would \\e want to do that?
Prn'les preserve much information about the lifestyles of the
famil y that used it. They were
u sed 10 throwaway broken
plates. used mcdicine bottles
and other items, and people
accidentally dropped things in
(a nd , of cou rse , they dldn't want
t hem back after that!). PriVies
preserve much o f what might
have been lost othet'\\·ise.
Why do we look so closely at
wh a t our Fannstead buildings
have to tell us? Building dates
a nd uses give us an idea of how
the farm was used a nd how that
use has changed. In these
buildings we see the story of
how a farm went from subsistence production . to shipping
b utter. the n how it became a
"modern" 1920s dairy farm
scnd ing milk to market by
train. These walls do speak and
we hope you think their stories
are interestmg. With their h elp
we plan to restore the John
Hanford Farmstead to the period
of the 1920s/30s when it was a
"modernized " dairy farm with
evidence of its ea rlie r years as
somcthing more simple. It pays
to listen to walls.
ffP
Page 10
Hanford Mills Mu seum
Fall , 1997
Projects From the Mill Foreman
by Rober t Grassi
Left, this shows
how two bevel
gears fit together,
alld transfer power
at a 90 degree
angle.
Right, wooden cog teeth
and keys fit il1to tile iroll
bevel mortise gear to
creale all iron gear with
wooden teeth.
The summer of 1997 has
been a vel}' dry one for us in
East ~lercdith. In fact. for a
good portion of the summer. we
have no t been able to run OUI"
mill completely on wate r power.
We switched to electric motors
by mid-June. as an 8uxihary
power source. for several shops
in an attempt to consen'e
water. For the last three weeks
in July and, as of this writing,
the first weeks in August, we
have not been able to operate
our water wheel al all. We have
had to rely solei) on our two
electric motors to provide power
to operate the woodworking
machines. The water level in
the mill pond was 6 inches
below the bottom of our foreba~
in mid-August. Many of _'au
remember the drought of 1995.
when \\e lost our \\'ater ven'
early in June. We didn't reall\'
get it bRCk until late September.
except for three days from
thunderstorms. That year. the
lowest level below the bottom of
the forcbay measured 18
inches. Last year , we had more
wale r than we knew what to do
with. It really makes one think
how the Hanfords might have
handled such situations. especially when they re lied solely on
water power from about 1935 to
1945. Horace and his employees must have expenenced
similar years of dr~ weather. By
t.hat time. they had abandoned
the use of the stearn engine as
auxiliary power, their box
business had really dropped off.
and they were relying largely on
their lumber, feed and retail
businesses. This still mcluded
custom sawing and grinding
that I suspect would have just
had to wait until the watcr
rcturne-c1. After nil. then' is
ve l") little- any of us cfIn do abou t
the weather.
There has bee n a good sid e
to all of ou r dry weather. With
the water w heel tempora rily out
of service. I have been able to
renovate our secondary drive
system. Nor mally. I would have
had to wait until after we closed
for the season. The secondary
line shafting I am referring 10,
runs parallel to and is powered
di rectly off Oll r main line (ru n by
the water wh eel). This drive
system had a pair o f iron beve l
gears th at transferred pO\ver to
the second shaft a t a 90 degree
angle to the first. This second
s haft powers machinery in ou r
box room and our tub cover
rooms. These iron bevel gears
we re housed in a plywood box
wh ich acted as a gua rd a nd a
contain er for all the grease
needed to lu b ricate th em. I am
sure you all h ave hea rd them at
work for they were quite noisy
and located at floor level on the
water wheel observation deck .
Th ere are seve ral problems
associated with these gears,
other than the fact that they
were noisy a nd they were not
visible to ou r visitor s. For one.
they were greatly undersized for
the work that t hey were asked
to perform. Second. it was
nearly impossible to keep these
iron -on+iron gears p roperly
lubricated u n less they could
operate continuously in an oil
bath similar 10 a tra n s m ission
in a n automobile. Rather than
rework the ex isti ng syste m .
(which by t he way, was installed
by t he muse u m staff in 1983) I
chose to remove t hem and
install a more appropriate bevel
gear system_ I used an iron
mortise gear \\ ith inserted
wooden cogs paired with an all
iron geM. In the museum
collection was the pe rfect
Call "!.
0 11
page 1 1
Fall, 1997
Projects - COrt'r. from page 10
matched pair of bevel gears.
Even the h ole diameters and
keyways matched perfectly to
the existing I IS/16 inch line
shafting where they were to be
placed. Unfortunately, the
wooden cogs were in poor shape
and, as with the wooden wedges
that held them in place, quite a
few were missing. The originals were made out of hard
maple and we happened to have
just the appropriate material in
stock, sawn on our mill in years
past. and well seasoned. The
iron mortise bevel gear has 61
cogs and 54 wedges. Considering how much work was involved in the setups to make
these cogs (each cog needed 18
separate tablesaw cuts and
each wedge needed 6) , I made a
spare set of both cogs and
wedges for future use when the
current set requires replacement. Then each cog and
\\·edge was carefully fit to an
individual mortise on the gear.
Hanford Mills Museum
Many mills, particularly
those set up with water turbines, took advantage of this
style of bevel gearing. They had
some real advantages over ironon-iron setups. Several of these
we have already d iscu ssed a nd
were determining factors in the
use of the gears in our mill
(lubrication and noise). Equally
important, are that the \vaoden
cogs are easily replaced when
worn and less expensive than
purchasing a new all iron bevel
gear. Iron-on-iron bevel gearing
remained popular in low power,
low speed applications such as
in the elevator drives in our
gristmill at Hanford Mills. Iron
mortise bevel gears and their
wooden cogs and wedges were
still available for purchase well
into the early part of this century.
Another project under way in
the mill is the return of the
sawdust blower system for the
sawmill as it was last run by the
Pizza brothers. This will be
Page 1 1
reinstalled in the basemen t of
the mill. We recently received
a generous donation of a
Sturtevant blower (D.J . Hanford
purchased a similar Sturtevant
blowe r in 1886). I plan to install
t he donated blower directly
u n der th e head saw of the
Sawmill, and drive it off the
main line. We will retu rn the
metal spouting and direct it to
the sawdust room. There is
physical eviden ce in the basement that tells us the path of
t h e original spouting. The
present baseme n t sawdust room
will need some repair in order
to be returned to active service .
Again , physical evidence exists
that shows us where a partition
wall once stood. We will rebuild
this wall. All of the staff are
looking forward to these
c hanges. Ou r presen t system of
sawdust collection from the
head saw is not only historically
incorrect, it is quite a dangerous undertaking for museum
staff to remove the sawdust,
sometimes after
only one log was
Museum
sawn. The new
staffhaue
blower system and
installed a
the wall to be
Srurle 1I(lTlt
returned to the
blower
sawdust room will
similar to
be a welcome
the one
addition to our
pictured
o ngoing interprehere.
tation of how this
mill was truly
operated historically.
We invite you
all to come see our
most recent
projects in the mill
and. as always. we
welcome all your
comments. Hopefully , our recent
dry spell will end
and our water will
return soon to
power our water
wheel.
rI!".
~\i,.r
Page 12
Hanford Mills Museum
Fall, 1997
Don't Forget the Mill In Winter!
December 6, 1997 - Visit
"R.II'_ _' - - - ' the Museum for an old-fash -
.lYJ.CIIJI.JC.l::j
ioned holiday party. Meet old
•
and new friends , try loads of
H o l l d a y tasty snacks and enjoy the
holiday season.
\~atch yo.ur mail for i~for­
matlon on tImes. and brmg
along your own favorite holiday
V
snack to share if ~ou wIsh .
Party
....a
Winter
Ice
Harvest
Board of Trus tees
President: Gretchen Sorin
Vice Pres. : Gordon Robens
John I. Smilh. Jr.
Treasurer: I-!owllrd J . Nichols
Bctty Berglel\ncr
Katie Boardman
Craig Boyko
Carol Detweiler
Walter Gladstone
Charlone Hill
Craig
Jean Hillson
Bruce MacLeish
Wayne Mellor
Eric Olsen
Andrew VanBuren
James M. VanBurl'l1
Van Cot!
February 7, 1998 - Come
help the museum fill its ice
house. Try your hand at
cutting ice or watch the draft
horse learns pulling the
bobsleds. See a m u le powered ice plow a t work. Hot
soup and drinks will be
available. This even t starts
early. so set your clocks"
open from 9 a.m. to 4 p .m.
MILLWORK
Fall, 1997
Copyright 0 1997
Hanford Mills. Museum
Hanford Mills Museu m
Vol. 11 - No. 3
Non.I' rotiIOrganit.allOll
u .s I'OSTAGE
PAm
1'.;:mllt No. 2
Ea'l M~r~dil h.NY
Trustee Emeritus: Chi:lr1cs Haynes
13757
Museum Staff
Executive Director: Jane Shepherd
Curator: Carohne de Marrais
Mill Foreman: Roben GrassI
Dir. of Education: Mark Watson
Intern: Stacy Ward
Interpre tcrs: E3ill I3rinclle
Tres Loemcr
Gin Shop: Judy Wood
Sandy Shwa
Sharon Sepulvida
MILLWORK is pubhshed by Hanford
Mills Museum and distributed free to
members.!1 is edl1ed by curator.
Caroline de Marrais.
l East Meredith , NY
137 57
TeleEhon e:
1607 1 278-5744
I